Critical Balance
by LStormcloud
Summary: (Complete Summary inside) Teaser: Mina Sarati would rather saw off her legs than spend 5 minutes working with Chris Haliwell. Unluckily for 13 billion inhabitants depending on her, that's just what she needs to do.


**Summary:**

Mina Sarati (a.k.a. Talen Sinocard) is the balancer, chosen to rescue the universe from its precariously unbalanced state. Unfortunately after a catastrophic incident in her past, she's more than willing to let everything go to hell in a pooper scooper. Christopher Haliwell is dreaming about a life he's never lived, feeling more weak and useless than ever before, and after witnessing atrocities committed by the "good" guys, questioning everything he's been taught about good and evil.

After a negative chance meeting, Mina would rather saw off her legs than spend 5 minutes working with Chris. Unfortunately for her and 13 billion people, animals, demons, angels, and assorted magical beings, she's going to have to spend more time than that to ease the world back from its critically unbalanced state. That is, if she doesn't kill him first.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Charmed or any of the characters you recognize. Everything else is mine.

**Author's Note:** This chapter is mainly designed to introduce you to the story. I've left certain details ambiguous on purpose, in the hope they will encourage you to keep reading. Enjoy!

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**Critical Balance: Chapter 1**

I sighed as I finished unloading the last cardboard box from the moving truck. I still couldn't believe that I had agreed to do this. Of all the places Nemar could have sent me, he just _had_ to pick San Francisco. I waved a goodbye to the truck driver and turned back to inspect my new house.

Somehow, I'm still not sure exactly how, he had managed to convince me to buy a house that was located on the outskirts of the city. I would have preferred to rent an apartment in downtown San Francisco, but this assignment was too important to risk discovery.

The owner had been all too willing to part with the house after learning that I would pay the sticker price. The house was worth far less than what I had paid for it, but it had large grounds and was secluded from the street so I coughed up the money (with more than a few virulent curses at Nemar).

Unfortunately the old owner had neglected to mention that there were a few minor problems with the utilities. Namely, the water and heating systems didn't work, which means that I have to fix them before I can take a shower. That and it hadn't been lived in since the 1970s, so I would have to update it myself.

Just my luck, I have to finish unpacking and put up the shields before I can tackle either of these problems.

Groaning, I turned my eyes to the heavens and pleaded, "Why me?"

"Because you're the only one, who can handle this one." The voice came from somewhere near my feet and glancing down I saw Lirit.

Lirit is quite a startling sight if you're not used to him. With pitch black fur, ruby eyes, and two large feathery wings, he is not your usual house cat. Then again, he's not really a cat at all. He's actually a shifter who happens to prefer being a cat. His true form is quite imposing. A 10-foot tall griffin strikes awe into just about everyone.

"Then again, Nemar is still irked at you for sending Sasha to the Arctic, so that might have something to do with why he sent you here." His ruby eyes twinkled with amusement and I suppressed a smile at the memory.

"She deserved it. She was getting arrogant and put herself in danger." I replied, bending to pick up a large box. "That may be true, but it took her hours to figure out how to get back and you made her miss her meeting with her underworld contact."

I started walking into the house, taking care not to step on Lirit's tail as I made my way. I wouldn't be surprised if he sent _me_ to the Arctic for that offense. I grit my teeth in annoyance when I saw that I had forgotten to open the front door before I picked up the box.

"Little help here?" I enquired to the lounging cat. Lirit just raised an eyebrow (don't ask me how, I didn't think cats could do that until I met Lirit), and continued licking himself. "You didn't say the magic words."

"Fine. I'll do it myself then." I snapped at him. A flicker of a thought later and the door was swinging open. "Well someone's grouchy, aren't they?" Lirit muttered as he trotted through the door. I stepped in after him and with another thought the door closed.

As I entered the house, the first thing I noticed was that the door was painted two different colors, the outside had been painted a hideous pink color, while the inside was an even more repulsive puke green color. I suspected that the outside had been painted to match the rest of the exterior, which was done in a variety of pinks, greys, and browns.

The inside didn't really match any of the decor, except maybe the strange green stains on the brown walls. The house looked decently up kept on the outside, even with its clashing colors, but the inside was in a state of utter disrepair.

I set the box down in what I thought was supposed to be the parlor and surveyed my surroundings.

In front of me was an elegantly curving double stair case. In its day it must have been a real beauty, but neglect had caused most of the steps to fall in and the railing was missing in more than a few places.

Wonderful, not only could I not take a shower, I couldn't even get upstairs.

To my left, a wide arch way led to the parlor where all of my belongings were currently housed. To my right was another slightly larger room with huge windows, offering views of the wild and overgrown grounds. I assumed that the room was meant as a living area and as I walked inside to inspect it further I noticed that it had a fireplace containing piles of ash.

The dining room was just off of the living room and I noticed a broken chain where a chandelier had once hung. Connected to the dining room was a huge kitchen with a breakfast nook. All of the rooms had large windows that offered views of the formidable grounds.

Continuing my walk through the kitchen, I noticed that there was a door leading to the cellar. The kitchen was connected to the parlor and I soon found myself back where I had started.

During my short tour I had begun compiling a list of all the things that I would need to change or fix. First on the list was the dust. Everything was coated in a layer of dust at least an inch thick. Next, I would have to find someway to cover the windows. While picturesque, they were highly impractical for the purpose I had bought the house for.

I would need to add a bathroom to the floor and at least one shoe closet. Then I would have to repair the stair case and give everything a fresh coat of paint. The poop brown color that was currently on the walls was definitely not my style.

I still needed to fix the utilities and make sure that there isn't any structural damage to the house. The last thing I wanted was for the floor to fall through.

But before I could do any of this, I needed to put shields up. Getting caught this early in the game would be disastrous for everyone.

Sighing, I rolled up my sleeves and brushed some stray hair out of my eyes. I had a feeling that I would not be getting to sleep anytime soon. Thank goodness I didn't have to be at work for another week and a half. I had arranged to come early so that I had plenty of time to get everything done.

I wouldn't be taking any chances with this. I took a breath, closed my eyes and began to concentrate.

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**Author's Note:** What do you think so far? The first couple of chapters are mainly to introduce the character, set up the story, and to get you used to my writing style. Feedback is _always_ welcome! Take note, flames will only feed the fire. 


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